Lessons learned from the blackout of 2012

Thursday night we lost power for about 6 hours due to some local thunderstorms. The power went out around 4 or 4:30 and there was still some light outside, so the kids finished their homework and worked puzzles and read and it was fairly normal.

By 5:30, I realized that we were going to have to go elsewhere to eat since all of our dinner choices required an electric oven, stove, or microwave or would mean opening the fridge (and I would not allow that because I wanted the food to keep.)

Around 6, Josh agreed that the power outage won, and we got some Mexican food to go and had a picnic at home. This is also about the time we found out that the power would be out until around 2:30 in the morning.

Oh, Laura Ingalls, how did you pioneers do it?

So . . . the kids got in their pajamas and we had a family talent show by flashlight. It was lots of fun--especially when Bo showed us some of the moves they do in Creative Movement at his school. (Oh, and Mrs. Kristen, we are already praying that Sascha does the real routine for the recital and NOT the one she ad libbed for us.)

All in all, it was such a first world problem to be without power for a few hours, but I did learn a few things. . .

#1--never let your phone, laptop, and husband's i-pad run out of juice at the same time. The technology crickets were chirping loudly. It's weird to feel cut off from the world when normally everything is available at the touch of a screen.

#2--keep extra batteries around for flashlights . . . especially if your kids like to play with flashlights

#3--hide some flashlights . . . especially if your kids like to play with flashlights

#4--stay off of treadmills in questionable weather (that's for you, Tracy)

#5--turn the lights and technology off more to "practice" and enjoy being a modern-pioneer. When the power did come back on around 10, Josh and I turned the lights back off and finished our conversation by firelight. Our crazy world seemed a little calmer without power.